Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Real Estate

New Study Finds Government Regulations Add Nearly $132K to the Cost of New Homes
Fox 13 News, Approved, National

New Study Finds Government Regulations Add Nearly $132K to the Cost of New Homes

By Bradford Betz | FOX 13 News Government regulations now add roughly $132,000 to the cost of a typical newly built home, according to a new study from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), as industry leaders warn that mounting costs are worsening the nation's housing affordability challenges. The NAHB study found that regulations imposed by federal, state and local governments account for 26.4% of the final price of a new single-family home. Applied to the average sales price of a new home in January, the regulatory burden totals approximately $131,734 per house. The estimate is based on Census Bureau data showing the average sales price of a newly built home sold in January was $499,500. The report comes as housing affordability remains ...
Families Struggle as Colorado Climbs to Third Most Expensive State
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Families Struggle as Colorado Climbs to Third Most Expensive State

By Breeanna Jent | The Denver Gazette Think of Colorado and what comes to mind? Majestic mountain views; skiing, sledding, rafting, hiking and more in the Great Outdoors; alpine forests and golden plains; ample sunshine, craft beer and breathtaking sunsets. Just to scratch the surface. But the cost of living and housing affordability in Colorado has drastically increased in recent years, gradually diminishing or even pushing these simple joys out of reach for the average person. At the end of 2025 the Colorado Scorecard, a report released by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, found that while the state is improving or leading in key sectors such as business friendliness, health and wellness and gross domestic product, Colorado continues struggling with housi...
Denver’s Right of First Refusal Puts Government in the Middle of Private Property Sales
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Denver’s Right of First Refusal Puts Government in the Middle of Private Property Sales

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I saw a post by a reader on Twitter recently. It shows how Denver is proposing to implement a 2024 law passed by the state legislature. Let’s start with the 2024 bill. It’s linked first below. I took a screenshot of the bill’s fiscal note summary and attached those as screenshots 1 and 2. As you can see from the highlight in screenshot 2, it just wouldn’t be Colorado if we didn’t throw a bone or two to nonprofits. In summary, the bill allows local governments (for buildings of a certain size depending on whether your municipality qualifies as urban or rural/resort) either the right to purchase a property if it’s already listed as affordable housing for “an economically or substantially ...
After fire, a new rule: Why one Lakewood property can’t be rebuilt as before
Lakewood Informer, Approved, Commentary, Local

After fire, a new rule: Why one Lakewood property can’t be rebuilt as before

By Lakewood Informer | Lakewood Informer Subtack When a Lakewood resident bought a burned-out single-family house to rehabilitate it, he had no idea Lakewood would say no. The house had been vacant and neglected, allowing homeless to move in and cause a fire. The result is an unusable, dangerous eyesore. But those considerations were not as important to Lakewood as changing the property to high-density. The new owner thought he would do the neighborhood a favor and fix it up. He had no desire to build high-density and no reason to think he could not replace one single-family home with another. Unfortunately for him, Lakewood has been eliminating single-family zoning for years. During the 2012 rezone, many properties were changed from single-family to multi-use without ...
Forecast Shows Home Prices Falling in Much of the South and West in 2026
CBS News, Approved, National

Forecast Shows Home Prices Falling in Much of the South and West in 2026

By Mary Cunningham | CBS News It's still a tough time to get a foothold in the housing market, with homes sitting near record values and mortgage rates parked well above 6%. But the tide could turn in 2026, with property prices forecast to dip in 22 of the largest 100 U.S. cities and mortgage rates expected to ease slightly, according to a new analysis from Realtor.com. The real estate market is expected to move in a more "buyer-friendly" direction next year, leading to the "most balanced housing market" since the pandemic, meaning that neither sellers nor buyers are likely to have the upper hand in negotiations, said Jake Krimmel, a senior economist at Realtor.com. Mortgage rates are expected to dip to an average of 6.3% next year, a slight drop from 2025's ...
Denver’s Budget Crisis Deepens Amid $2 Million Rent Default
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Denver’s Budget Crisis Deepens Amid $2 Million Rent Default

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado The city of Denver's largest tenant, the leaseholder for the Denver Post building at 101 West Colfax Avenue, stopped making its monthly $650,000 rent payments to the city in August. And with late charges, the leaseholder is now about $2 million behind in rent, according to an exclusive CBS News Colorado investigation. "It is a large amount of income for the city, and if we cannot recover that, we will have to turn around and find more budget cuts," said Denver City Councilwoman Sarah Parady. The city of Denver bought the Denver Post building in early 2024 for $88.5 million, saying the 303,000 square foot building would eventually be needed to house Denver's court system. The Denver City Council approved the purchase by a 9-4 vote but several council m...
From Grief to Grace: How Steve Witkoff Found Strength After Tragedy
New York Post, Approved, Commentary, National

From Grief to Grace: How Steve Witkoff Found Strength After Tragedy

By: Alex Witkoff | Commentary, The New York Post My father, Steve Witkoff, has always been a man of compassion. His life has been built on a simple creed: When people suffer, you do not look away — you step forward and help. He did not come from privilege. His father was a coat manufacturer, and at 29, with no financial safety net, he took the leap to start his own business. Hard work was his inheritance; perseverance his language. Even as he built a career from nothing, he never allowed success to eclipse his humanity or his devotion to family. Between 2009 and 2011, our family faced the greatest trial imaginable: My older brother, Andrew, was battling addiction — a disease that consumed his spirit but never his light. My parents surrounded him with constant care, but ...
Colorado realtor says Fed’s interest rate cut “a good time to make big purchases, especially homes”
Approved, CBS Colorado, State

Colorado realtor says Fed’s interest rate cut “a good time to make big purchases, especially homes”

By Michael Abeyta | CBS Colorado A Colorado real estate broker says Wednesday's announcement by the Federal Reserve that they are lowering the interest rate by .5 percentage points was somewhat expected and that he was somewhat ready for it. "I thought the Fed was going to be a little bit more conservative and do a 0.25 percentage cut. However, the 0.5 is where we're at. So not shock, not surprise," said Brett Weinstein, the CEO of Guide Real Estate. That means it costs consumers less in interest to borrow money. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
If you have $48.5M, you can get the Walton-owned recording retreat of the stars
Approved, BizWest, Local

If you have $48.5M, you can get the Walton-owned recording retreat of the stars

By BizWest The Walton family, the billionaire clan that owns Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), is attempting to sell Caribou Ranch, a 1,700-acre property in the Rocky Mountain foothills near Nederland that for decades served as a recording retreat for mega-star musicians such as the Beach Boys, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire. The asking price: a cool $48.5 million. Caribou Ranch, built in 1972 by record producer James William Guercio, is owned by Indian Peaks Holdings LLC, Boulder County property records show. That entity is registered with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office to the same Bentonville, Arkansas, address Walton Enterprises LLC, the Walton’s family office.  READ THE FULL STORY AT BIZWEST
John Denver’s music studio, guest house for sale if you have $8.5 million
Approved, kdvr.com, Local

John Denver’s music studio, guest house for sale if you have $8.5 million

By Maddie Rhodes | Fox 31 Denver John Denver’s guest house and music studio that inspired the singer’s famous hit “Starwood in Aspen” is now for sale. The house, which is listed with Christie’s International Real Estate, lies along the Starwood subdivision in Aspen. The realtor said that as Denver was a longtime resident of Starwood, his song was “in tribute to the community’s beauty,” according to the listing. The Starwood community is a private home development that’s 15 minutes outside of Aspen and as Denver describes it in his lyrics, it’s “a sweet Rocky Mountain paradise.” READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 DENVER

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